Darkness Risen
by belle-noire20
Summary: [Sequel to Coldhearted Metal] Chapter 10 UPDATE! Black Chaos returns to retrieve the Chaos Emerald from the Blue Blur. Does Sonic have what it takes to bring Black Chaos down?
1. Chapter One

_**Rougesweet16 note: This takes place months after my first fic, so winter's over. There's at least five characters added in this story. Let me know how this story goes, I'll shut up…**_

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**Chapter 1**

Rain…

That was all there was for the past few days, and during those days the weather has been the same. Pouring during a sunny day, dewy during a peaceful night. But of course, this odd weather did not bother this individual, as he was now in a state where no one would interfere with him.

A light blue blur sweped through the beach of the Emerald Coast. Sonic the Hedgehog was doing what he loves and does best; he was running. It was when he could feel his sense of self, what was the essence of himself. Sonic was now at peace. To be as free as the wind blowing across the city must be an indulgent feeling for him. But then when you think about it, that exact feeling _was_ Sonic. You can almost feel that aura the instant you see him flashing a smile.

Sonic stopped running, but continued walking along the edge of the coast. He didn't mind the water splashing against his shoes, he was in deep thought. More to the point, thinking about his last adventure. That time, the ingenious Dr. Robotnik had planned to dominate the world once again with an army of robots that were infused with a special liquid called the Egg Extract, which acted as a sort of organic brain. What the Sonic Heroes later found out was that Eggman's main robots; Metal Sonic, Metal Knuckles, and Zero planned to betray him to rule the world themselves. Then they were able to transform into enormous three-headed dragon machine.

That was when the Sonic Team went into action. With their combined efforts, that threat was no more and the heroes returned to their homes.

Sonic looked up at the benighted sky, though it was covered with dark rain clouds, as it has been for days. But it was getting late. Sonic covered his mouth as he yawned_. 'It'll probably rain again tomorrow.'_ He thought_. 'Guess I'll hang out at Tails' place or something.'_ Sonic was getting ready to sprint again, but was then distracted by a small twinkling light close by. Sonic wanted to check it out and he ran to where it turned out to be, water.

"Why does it have to be water?" he moaned. When he got to the water, he took a closer look and spotted a sparking jewel. _'Is that what I think it is?'_ he asked himself. Sonic reached out his hand and grabbed the jewel out of the water. It filled the palm of is hand. "It's a Chaos Emerald." He said.

He continued to stare at the dark blue stone, then he felt a light breeze blowing as he thought he saw something moving from behind him. Sonic quickly turned around, but didn't see anything unusual. He eyed suspiciously at his surroundings, then shrugged and started to run back to the city.

As soon as Sonic was out of sight, the water suddenly made a strange current and formed a small black sphere. It slowly came out of the water. A set of red sinister eyes appeared. It didn't move but echoes were heard from its dark matter. The voices kept repeating the same word: _power…power…power_. For the longest time it stayed where it was, but then it disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

The Next Morning…

"So far, things are okay…" said the young twin-tailed fox. Tails would be known as the mechanical genius of the Sonic Team. His abilities rivaled Dr. Robotnik himself. Tails, the inventor that he is was now spending his leisure time building another form of item from a few machine parts he found the night before.

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(Flashback)

Tails found himself exploring the remains of the fallen air base of the now deceased Dr. Eggman, where the Sonic Heroes had fought the Metal Overlord. The surroundings basically turned into a wasteland by the many demolished flagships and metal parts. Yet, Tails did not recall any of the Sonic Team destroying the main fortress.

Since it was raining for a few days, everything looked old and rusted. The area was quite polluted with the nuclear waste liquids. Tails continued to search throughout the area, until he had spotted a familiar contraption. Tails was sure that it was the same battle robot that had fought along side Shadow and Rouge. The robot called himself Omega.

Tails could see that Omega's body was just as rusted and decaying as everything else in the place was, but the body had somehow managed to hold together. Tails gently took the robot and examined it carefully. He was amazed at the amounts of weaponry that was concealed in its arms. It was impressive. Searching deeper, Tails was able to find Omega's hardware system and a few switches. He tried a few buttons, until he switched on the hardware. Tails noticed that Omega was no longer able to move his limbs or other body parts.

"-I am Omega-" It had the same voice. "The ultimate E-series robot."

Omega's hardware system then made a few beeping and whistling tones. "Scanning subject identification…" There was a pause, until… "Subject known as Miles Prower, resident of Station Square."

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(End Flashback)

Since then, Tails has been working on what to do with Omega's functional remains, until he had thought of a unique invention. Until he was finished on what he was doing, Tails couldn't wait for Sonic visited him.

"Finally, everything's set!"


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter 2**

He looked at the planet that was so close to him. Even though he had spent so much time there, he was not yet adapted to it. Therefore, he remained in the only place he would call home, the space colony ARK.

It was the only place that the ultimate life form, Shadow the Hedgehog would be most familiar to; the only place he really had. He stood in the central control room and viewed the planet Earth, and space itself. Shadow had much on his mind.

He took out a photograph that was given to him a few months ago, it was a picture of his creator Dr. Gerald Robotnik, and his granddaughter Maria. Of course, they were the only company that Shadow ever had, but his memories of them are quite faint. They were merely brief scenes of past events.

_Why?_ That was the main question Shadow has been asking himself. It was his missing link. He was looking for an answer.

_Why?_

Shadow remembered that his creator once told him that he had dedicated his life and work to the citizens of Earth. To make the people happy was his motive. Yet Shadow was still curious about something.

_Why?_

His supporter Maria, who had an illness at the time, fought along side the professor. Shadow had seen the hope and confidence Maria had in her eyes, regardless of the state she was in. She was a pure-hearted young woman that has been a true friend to Shadow, and he will always keep her in his heart.

_Why?_

That was his question. He knew he was the ultimate life form, he had proven that countless times. But he had to wonder if he had truly fulfilled his purpose. Shadow had yet to understand why the professor had given him what he called a _'heart'_. As he thought more, Shadow was brought back to what Dr. Gerald Robotnik told him, as well as what Maria's words were.

_**/Give them a chance… to be happy…/**_

Shadow clenched his fists in frustration as he tried to put the pieces together. The professor, Maria, and their colleges had fought a long battle to bring harmony to the people on Earth. Their hard work to make everyone happy…

Shadow looked at the planet in disgust. _'If they truly had a chance for happiness then,'_ he thought. _'they have done nothing to earn that from the professor and the others 50 years ago. They have only proven their fear for me, for the professor…for Maria. The people's fear led them to shutting down this research facility, at the same it ended some people's lives, including Maria's.'_

Shadow could feel his anger rushing through his body as he clenched his fists tighter. Humans are such strange creatures. If they wanted peace, didn't they have any sense? Shadow was just about ready to regret that he himself had once threatened to destroy the Earth for what the people had done. But then he wouldn't have thought he had fulfilled Maria's promise… and Amy's…

…Yes, Amy Rose.

She had that same look in her emerald eyes Maria had as well, which made Shadow even more confused. He had seen her a few times before; she would definitely be the bubbliest person Shadow ever met in his life. He could almost see that Amy had the same innocence Maria had.

The black hedgehog took out a green Chaos Emerald and stared at it as he thought. He hadn't seen Amy for the longest time. _She probably already got into some kind of trouble._ Shadow turned and continued to stare at the planet below.

* * *

It continued to rain that day, and Amy stayed at her apartment. The overly cheerful girl of the Sonic Heroes, the ever-active person that she was, wasn't feeling this way this time.

Amy sat quietly at her kitchen table, holding a cup of water. She hasn't had restful sleep for a while. She has been feeling gloomy and under the weather, just as she was feeling right now. Maybe the strange weather had an effect on her. Amy wasn't sure, but she felt terrible. She pressed her hand to her head; she had a bad headache.

She took a sip of her water, then suddenly heard a knock from her front door. Amy slowly got up from where she sat and exited the kitchen. When she answered the door, Amy saw her friend Cream in front of her with an umbrella in her hands. "Hi Cream," Amy said weakly.

"Hi Amy," Cream's smile disappeared as soon as she saw Amy's face. "Are you okay? You don't look like you're feeling well."

"I'm fine." Amy lied. She put on a smile, hoping that her rabbit friend would be reassured. But Cream wasn't convinced. "Where's Cheese?" she asked.

"He's in the Chao Garden at the hotel. I'm gonna get him later on today." Cream noticed that Amy was grabbing her coat and umbrella. She wasn't planning on going outside in the rain, was she? "Amy, what are you doing?"

"I need to go to the store for a bit." Amy answered. "I'm running out on food. The store's just around the corner."

"But Amy, I know you're not feeling too good. You shouldn't go outside if you're sick, it'll get worst!"

Amy was already just outside the front door. "I'm just fine, Cream. Watch." Amy wanted to try to walk, but then she suddenly felt dizzy and felt more pain in her head. She stumbled and started to fall.

"Amy!" Cream yelled.

Amy got dizzier as she fell. Then she felt arms catching her, stopping her fall. Those arms wrapped around her as her head were rested on a soft chest. Amy went into unconsciousness before she had a chance to see who had caught her.

* * *

Cream didn't notice her mouth dropped. She was surprised to see that Shadow appeared so suddenly and helped Amy. She then sighed, and went next to both hedgehogs to check on them. "Poor Amy…"

Shadow feel the heat from Amy's body, he knew it wasn't normal. She's probably gotten a fever. And she was stubborn enough to go outdoors? Shadow put his hand on Amy's head. _Might as well stay here for a while, at least until she wakes._


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter 3**

Violaceous eyes instantly opened, he could see the sky above.

Knuckles the Echidna was the only known resident of the Floating Island. It was high above the clouds, so there was no rain. It's been a long while- 2 months since he had seen his friends, but he had to be use to that. He was where he was needed most. He was a 'lone-wolf' after all, somewhat an egotist, a loner. Knuckles couldn't afford having vulnerability, being the guardian of the omnipotent Master Emerald. It played a crucial part of its guardian's life.

In a certain point of view, the Master Emerald supports its guardian with certain essentials. It also has the ability to grant a portion of its powers to him during oppressive times, and for that, Knuckles will always be grateful to it. But then, he would also be cursed with a guilty conscience.

Why?

His people.

He had seen it. The vision- or whatever it was, he was in it. He had felt the realness of the ruins of the ancient structures. He had felt the pride and the power of the echidna citizens. They were thriving, in some ways. But if we think about it, their doom was inevitable. And the Chaos Emeralds were the keys to their end. Their thoughts of power had led them to their destruction, the guardian of the seven mystic gems: Chaos.

Their burden would always flow in Knuckles' blood.

Yet he kept reminding himself that being the guardian of the Master Emerald wasn't as miserable as he would sometimes put it. It did have its benefits. No, he didn't mind where he was at the moment.

She was here.

He had felt he presence for a while now. His peace was disturbed. _Why was she here? _Knuckles marched past the trees and bushes that were his surroundings. It didn't matter to him what reason that _bat-girl_ was here, he would track her down. Her scent and presence was all he needed to form a path that led him to her.

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She tossed the glittering jewel in the air, then caught it as it fell back. A sigh of disappointment then came out of her.

Rouge the Bat sat near the edge of the Angel Island, her head was down and in thought. Her face made a slight frown. Why was she feeling this way? She was a lover for jewels. Her obsession for them made her a skillful treasure hunter and thief. She had always thought that the world's treasures would bring out her adventurous and mercenary nature, but now she wasn't so sure.

She had the feeling that something was…missing, or something that was lost.

Whatever it was, it was bothering her.

Rouge stared at the jewel that filled her palms. She knew by its shine, its familiar touch; it was a Chaos Emerald. Surprising as it was for her, she wasn't very thrilled when she retrieved the emerald. Yet Rouge kept it with her, hoping that it would be worth her time.

Then out of nowhere, Rouge wondered. _Did she have this feeling…because treasure hunting wasn't thrilling enough for her?_ She mentally slapped herself after that thought. What was she thinking? But then she thought it through, and she had to admit it. She wasn't feeling the rush and excitement, even hunting a Chaos Emerald. Just what made her act this way?

Rouge quickly got irritated with her 'mental searching', and she stood up. "I can't deal with this right now!"

"Deal with what?"

Rouge's head turned to where she had heard a familiar voice and she immediately saw Knuckles, who was merely steps away from her. She noticed him moving towards her. She had a few seconds think to herself. _Was it …because of him?_

"What are you doing here?"

Her eyes were fixed on him. "Is there a problem with me staying here to think?" Rouge waited for Knuckles to answer, but he only crossed his arms in response. She then turned and looked away from him. "I'll leave if that's what you want." She spread out her wings and was about to take flight, when she felt Knuckles' hand grab hers. His hold felt very warm, she only turned to give him a curious face.

"Did I say I had a problem with you being here?" Knuckles said, not smiling. "I'll let you stay, if thinking is all you're here for." He slowly let go of Rouge's hand, when she turned back to him. Her eyes met with his and they stared at each other for a while, until Rouge walked a few steps away from Knuckles and sat back down. "How did you even know I was here?" she asked him.

"I'd call it an intuition, I guess." Rouge saw how Knuckles was boasting his bold attitude. She had to smile at him. She then turned her attention to a narrow river that was close by them. "This spot's beautiful, Knuckles." She commented.

"Yeah, this place is pretty nice." Knuckles agreed. "It looks even better at night."

"Why?" Rouge looked back at Knuckles. "What happens then?"

"The river will light up. It'll look like it's illuminated water."

Rouge smiled again and looked back at the river. "Wow, that's a sight I'd like to see." She then chuckled, which made Knuckles turn to her. She continued. "I should come here to think more often."

Both of them stayed silent and continued to watch the river for a long while, until Knuckles suddenly felt uneasy. Rouge noticed his change of mood. "Something wrong?" she asked.

"Something doesn't feel right." Knuckles got into a fighting stance. He eyed in different directions. "I'm not sure what, but it feels like something's coming…"

Rouge stood up and looked around the area. "I don't see anything-" Both her and Knuckles then saw the current changing in the river. A black sphere came out and floated above the ground. Rouge walked next to Knuckles. "What's that thing?"

The black ball started to transform. It suddenly formed big arms and legs. Its head looked somewhat like a fish, but it had small horns in its head. Red eyes then flashed open.

'_It can't be…'_ Knuckles thought. That dark creature looked very familiar to him. In fact, he was pretty sure that he had fought it once before. "Is that…Chaos?"

**To Be Continued**


	4. Chapter Four

_Rougesweet16 note:_ _Chapters will be written longer very soon, guys. Please be patient with me. Some of you guys might have read my other story, "Time Returns to Howl". I deleted the fic so that I could rewrite it and add more stuff to it. That's how this story came up. I didn't copy, just to get that clear._

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**Chapter 4**

Sonic was on his way to visit his fox friend, Tails. He had just gotten off of the train from Station Square and arrived at the Mystic Ruins. Sonic quickly ran to Tails' workshop and opened the front door. "Yo Tails, are you there?"

"Right here, Sonic." He heard Tails answer. "I'll be right there." It wasn't long before Tails met up with Sonic at the door. Tails took a good look at him. "Hi Sonic. I guess the weather is pretty much the same, huh?"

"You got that right." Sonic leaned against the wall.

"So what did you do?"

"I was just at the Emerald Coast," Sonic took out the dark blue jewel to show Tails. "And look, I found a Chaos Emerald."

Tails gazed at the emerald. "Really? A Chaos Emerald?" He saw Sonic put the emerald away and said, "So what were you doing, Tails? Bet you were kinda bored."

"Not really." Tails said. "Come on, let me show you what I'm working on." Tails led Sonic to where he worked and got his new device in his hands. "Who'll never guess who it is."

"Who?" Sonic wondered. "What do you mean, 'who'?"

"I am Omega." It answered. Sonic nearly jumped back. "You're saying that thing's Omega?"

"Yup." Tails nodded. "I found his body the other day and was experimenting with his hardware."

"So what did you do with it?"

"Well obviously Omega isn't a battle robot anymore, but I kept most of its functions and added some of my own. I'm not finished with it, though." By the time he finished his sentence, Tails noticed that Sonic was going back towards the front door. "Hey Sonic, where are you going, Sonic?"

"I'll be back, Tails." Sonic already opened the door. "I'm just going out for a run."

"In the rain?"

"It feels nice. See you later." Sonic left and closed the door behind him before Tails had anything else to say. Tails then felt a bit bummed. "Well, I better get back to work."

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Dark matter _'splashed'_ to the ground as it was struck down by Knuckles' downward punch. Rouge stood not far from him. They both watched as the creature slowly liquefied and morphed back to its original shape. It then walked towards the bat and echidna. 

"Now its my turn." Rouge said. She saw the monster raising its arm for an attack. Its arm stretched as if it was elastic, and was directing to Rouge. But the attack was ridiculously slow; Rouge easily dodged it and pursued the enemy with her Tail Spin Kick. She successfully pierced her opponent, and it liquefied again. Instead of morphing back, it disappeared.

"Well that was easy." Rouge said. She turned her attention to Knuckles, and noticed he looked very much disturbed. "Something on your mind?" she asked him.

Knuckles didn't answer, silently growled as the thought. _'Something's not right here. That thing looked and moved a lot like Chaos. But if it was Chaos, then what's it doing here?'_

"Chaos?"

Knuckles heard Rouge repeat the name. _'I must have thought out loud.' _Knuckles looked to where 'Chaos' disappeared as Rouge continued to speak. "Chaos...Isn't Chaos the one that caused that huge flood in the city a long time ago?" Rouge had never saw it, but she did hear about Station Square's destruction due to a gigantic water monster. _But somehow, something about this doesn't make any sense... _

Before she knew it, Knuckles had taken off to another direction. Rouge quickly followed him as they past through the trees and bushes. "Where are we going?" Rouge asked.

"Where else? Checking the Master Emerald." Knuckles answered. Soon after, they both caught the sight of the Master Emerald shrine across from them. Once they got a little closer, Knuckles stopped with Rouge close behind. He took a good look at the emerald; it glowed magnificently. Not appeared to be wrong at all. Knuckles stood still for a while, until he started to advance towards the Master Emerald.

For a split second, he felt as if something crept in the ground. He had little time to react when towers of black liquid suddenly shot from the ground. They flew towards the Master Emerald.

"What the hell?" was all that Knuckles could say.

"What's going on?" Rouge yelled.

The dark matter was able to get to the Master Emerald. As it reached, it looked like it was surrounding it, transforming its beautiful green color into pure blackness.

'Is... Is it trying to absorb the emerald?' Knuckles thought furiously. He quickly ran up the steps of the shrine, but was unexpectedly thrown back down. Rouge ran to his side and helped him up. When they looked back to the Master Emerald, they saw that a barrier was what forced Knuckles back.

Knuckles' and Rouge's blood suddenly felt their blood freeze when they heard something that sounded like glass breaking. They saw the Master Emerald was cracking to pieces. Before Knuckles could act the emerald had burst into many shards. Streaks of the emerald's light shot throughout the sky.

Rouge gasped in shock and Knuckles punched the ground in anger. They both knew what would happen next; they both knew that without the Master Emerald, the Floating Island would fall into the ocean.

Knuckles and Rouge felt the ground shake as if there was a massive earthquake. Knuckles made sure that Rouge had something to hold on to as his island descended.

"This isn't good..."

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There may not have been as much rain in the Windy Valley beyond the windy caves of the Mystic Ruins, but there was still a warm, overwhelming breeze blowing across the fields. This young girl had felt it. Of course, this was where she lived. She made a smile when the wind blew through her long, curly mauve hair. 

Mina the Mongoose sat in front of her hut, humming a happy tune. She didn't mind getting in the drizzle; it was almost like a shower to her. And that was a good feeling.

She then stood up and had a good stretch. She decided that a walk would be nice. Mina only took a few steps, and something on the ground had already caught her eye. It was hidden, but sparkling among the grass. When she walked to where she had seen it, she reached her hand and grabbed a yellow gem.

'_Wow,'_ Mina thought. _'This is really pretty.' _Mina was staring and feeling the jewel as she slowly continued to walk again. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going, until she heard an older woman's voice coming from her hut. "Mina! Lunch is ready!"

"Coming, Mom!" she answered. Mina then tucked the jewel away in her pocket and walked her way back home, when she noticed rays of green light shooting across the sky. Mina was amazed at the sight.


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter 5**

Amy was awake- she had been for a while, but she didn't feel really feel like moving around. She didn't even want to try opening her eyes. She could feel that she was lying on a bed, though she wondered how that happened. Amy took a deep breath and started to think back what had happened that morning.

_'I was in the kitchen, when Cream came to visit me. I think I was on my way outside, then…'_

Blank; nothing came to her afterwards. That was when she finally forced herself to sit up and open her eyes. Amy couldn't tell whether the bedroom she was in was so dark or if it was the haziness due to her sleep. Her headache had eased up but she still felt warm. She was going to lie back down, then she suddenly wondered what happened to Cream. Amy knew she probably couldn't call her loudly, but she tried anyway. "Cream," Her voice was faint; she was still half-asleep. "Cream, are you there?"

"The rabbit girl left while you were sleeping."

Amy knew instantly that the voice belonged to Shadow. He sounded so close by. She tried looking around the room again, then could only see his gloved hands, his shoes, and his eyes. He was standing against a corner of the wall. "Is that you, Shadow?" Amy asked. "When did you get here? What happened?"

"You passed out when you were trying to go outside." Shadow answered. "I brought you back in your room after you almost fell to the floor."

'_I…passed out?'_ Amy thought, finally catching on. Though she was wondered how she couldn't even remember that part of what happened to her. She then mentally shrugged at the thought as she lay back on her bed. "…Thank you, Shadow." She finally said to him. "I'm kind of surprised that you're here."

"I'd call it a mere hunch." Shadow's voice then changed when he said, "But I don't think getting in the rain when you have a fever is very bright. And it shows since you were asleep for so long- half a day to be more precise."

'_Half a day? Was I really sleeping for that long?' _Thinking that her real reason for going out might sound somewhat stupid to Shadow, Amy felt like saying something in her defense and she came up with, "…I just wanted to get some air, that's all." Amy then expected Shadow to say something like, "whatever" or "_sure_". Yet Shadow stayed silent. Though Amy wasn't sure whether he was convinced or not.

"I don't want you outside." Amy heard Shadow loud and clear. It looked like she hesitated before nodding to Shadow. "Okay." She said as she lowered her head. Amy had a feeling that Shadow vanished after that.

She waited for a while then slowly got out of bed, and made her way to the kitchen. She was thirsty all of a sudden. _'I think I feel like having a cup of chocolate milk.'_

* * *

Mina stared at her bowl of stew with great delight. One quick whiff was enough to make her want to dig right in. "This looks great, mom!" said happily. She waited for the older mongoose to sit at the dinner table with her. Mina had a close resemblance to her mother, Isabella, only her hair was sleek and straight. 

"Go ahead and help yourself, Mina." She said with a smile. She watched as Mina ate at a fast pace. "How was your walk?" she then asked her. She waited for Mina to finish eating her dumpling.

"It was okay at first," Mina answered. Then she reached in her pocket and took out the stone she found earlier, and held it out for her mother to see it. "I found this on my way back. Then I saw some weird green lights in the sky."

"Is that so?"

"Uh-huh. Do you have any idea what they might be?" Mina had few spoonfuls of her stew and stuffed another dumpling in her mouth.

"Sorry to say, I don't know anything about." Isabella served herself a cup of tea, then got lost in her thoughts. Mina noticed the change on her mother's face. "Is something wrong, mom?"

Isabella slowly looked back to Mina. "…You and your father had always enjoyed this stew."

It was then that Mina gave her mother a worried look, but Isabella made a smile to reassure her daughter that nothing was wrong with her. Mina didn't really have many memories of her father. Her mother had told her that Arthur passed away in an accident, and that was when she was very young. Mina could remember how she would ask her mother every night how her father was like when she was little.

"Are you going back outside, Mina?" Isabella then asked.

"I might." Mina went back to finishing her meal. "Like always, your stew is the best, mom!" By the tone of her voice, Mina's mother knew that she was in a brighter mood.

"Thank you, dear."

* * *

There was a disturbance back in Station Square. Guard Robots and many security units were swarming all over the tails leading to the city's reserve bank, after finding out that there was a break-in. Alarms rang in every corner and pretty soon, G.U.N troops had arrived and covered the area. 

"Red Alert! Red Alert! Intruder is escaping through Sector 3!"

Beyond a security door inside the building, a large mechanical fighter was waiting. "This is G-5Z 'Sly Fox' reporting, in position and standing by." It said.

Soon after there was a sudden flash of light in the room, and a dark figure appeared. A glowing red jewel was in one hand, while the other hand was clenched in a fist.

"Subject located." The unit said. "And it has the Chaos Emerald. Commencing capture sequence." It then lifted and hovered off the ground. It pointed its large laser guns and fired. There was contact, and clouds of dusts were dancing over the floor. The machine fighter then landed. "It has been confirmed. Target has been destroyed."

"Don't be so sure of that."

The dust had settled and the intruder was even closer to the unit fighter. The clear sight of him was socking and left the trooper on the cockpit trembling. "Y-y-y-you! It's you! It's you again!"

A dark hedgehog with striking crimson eyes slowly marched towards the Sly Fox as the Chaos Emerald in his hand glowed a little brighter. "I don't think I was here before, but that doesn't matter now, does it?" he said with a chilling tone of voice. He raised his hand holding the emerald in the air, and it continued to glow brighter after every second. "But I have what I came for, and I won't waste anymore time dealing with pathetic defenses like you."

There was another flash of red light, only this one was much bigger and stretched across the room. Once the light dissipated Sly Fox was on the ground, demolished, and the hedgehog was no longer in the room.

"…Phase one is now complete…"

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_**Rougesweet16:**_ All I want from the readers is your predictions. I want to know what you guys think will happen next, so that I can laugh at all of you! (Just Kidding!) But seriously, I want to know… 


	6. Chapter Six

**_Rougesweet16 note: _**_Keep in mind that I'll be writing Black Chaos in the story, but the characters will still call him Chaos. I know this might be a useless note, but I'm trying not to get everyone confused._

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**Chapter 6**

Knuckles and Rouge were now walking through the jungles of the Mystic Ruins. Rouge started to get annoyed as she kept stepping in mud puddles, and the uneasy echidna walking along side her had only the past events in his mind. Just moments ago the Master Emerald had been shattered by Chaos, but something about this wasn't right.

Rouge couldn't help but ask Knuckles about Black Chaos. "So you say that Chaos can absorb the energy from the Chaos Emeralds?" Knuckles gave Rouge a nod as they crossed over a hug log. "Well, I'm just wondering why it didn't come after me when we fought him, since I had a Chaos Emerald."

Knuckles stopped and looked at Rouge. "You had a Chaos Emerald?" Rouge nodded in response and took out the violet emerald for Knuckles to see. Then the echidna started to think out loud. "Chaos came to the island a broke the Master emerald to pieces…I wonder if that was his only purpose for being there."

"If it was," Rouge said. "Do you have any idea why it would want do that?"

Knuckles thought for a bit, then said, "The Master Emerald has the power to neutralize and stop the Chaos Emeralds. That might have been a problem for Chaos."

"Then we just have to look for the emerald pieces, that's all."

"We also need to stop Chaos from getting the Chaos Emeralds. If it's anything like the last time we fought him, then we have to be ready for it. Finding both the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald pieces probably won't be easy, though. They can be anywhere."

'_Well, you have me with you, right?'_ Rouge thought, though for some reason she couldn't bring herself to say it to Knuckles. At least, not now. Then Rouge's beeper started to ring. She quickly grabbed it and answered.

"Rouge, you're needed in Station Square." Rouge knew right away that it was the President. "There is something we need to discuss."

"Is something wrong?"

"You will get more details when you get back to the city. I expect to hear from you shortly." Then the president hung up. She turned to Knuckles as she put her beeper away.

"I've got to hurry and out of this place. I'll see you later, echidna boy!" Rouge blew a kiss to Knuckles and took off, leaving him to start looking for the Master Emerald shards on his own.

* * *

Shadow was leaping from one rooftop to another heading for the central park area. A few moments after seeing Amy, he had been hearing sirens from all over town and he had ignored it, until he saw police cars speeding on the streets. Shadow jumped and landed near some railroad tracks. He could see beyond a nearby fence and a few buildings that there was a chase south of the Radical Highway. Shadow ran towards the chase and was able to catch up to the police units with ease, and he eventually had outrun them.

It wasn't long until Shadow then spotted the one who was running from the police. Shadow tried to get a good glimpse of who it was.

"_Another hedgehog…"_ he thought, though he didn't really care who it was. He was causing trouble, and Shadow was curious to know why. This hedgehog was fast, but of course, Shadow was a lot faster. It took a split second for the ultimate life form to appear in front of the mysterious hedgehog, and he stopped in his tracks.

What Shadow didn't expect to see, and was surprised by, was the hedgehog he was pursuing looked almost exactly like him. The only difference was the shoes, the dark grayish fur, and the violet streaks along the quills. There were linings around his body that looked like his fur was scrapped off, but there was no blood.

This hedgehog flashed an evil grin at Shadow, and the black hedgehog only glared back. "Just who exactly are you?" he asked calmly. Shadow waited for his answer, but his patience grew a little thin when he heard a laugh.

"Who am I?" said the gray figure. "I'm surprised that you haven't heard anything about me, Shadow the Hedgehog."

"And how the hell does he know me?" Shadow thought. This guy somehow easily got Shadow on the edge.

"My name is Omen." He finally answered. "I was wondering when I would finally have a chance to see you, face-to-face."

"And what business do you have with me?" Shadow asked. "Did you come to the city just to find me?"

"I came to this place to do more than that, Shadow." Omen then took out the Chaos Emerald. "Obtaining this emerald was is but the first step of preparing for the surprise that I have in store for you, as well as for the rest of the so-called 'Sonic Heroes'. I plan to keep my mouth shut until the time is right."

Just then, the red Chaos Emerald had glowed so bright that Shadow had to shield his eyes.

"Unfortunately, we don't have time make conversation." Omen continued. "I assure you Shadow the Hedgehog, that we will meet again in due time."

When Shadow finally had the chance to open his eyes, Omen had vanished. Though Shadow didn't have time to think about him because shortly after he disappeared, Omen's chasers were able to catch up. They had almost surrounded Shadow, but he quickly dashed away and was making his way through the highway's curvy roads.

"_Omen… what is that hedgehog planning?"_

* * *

"You want me to do what?" Rouge couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had only arrived in Station Square moments ago, and she had already heard about a chase going on in the city. But she was surprised to hear that Shadow was being accused for the Chaos Emerald being robbed.

"You know very well what I said, Ms. Rouge." She was talking to the president again on her phone. "I have been reported that a dark hedgehog robbed the city's reserve bank and stole the Chaos Emerald that was there, and there were eye-witnesses that recognized that the hedgehog was Shadow."

" I'm not quite sure if Shadow was the one who stole the emerald." Rouge said. "Remember that you make a mistake; when you thought that Sonic was the one who caused trouble in the city, and not Shadow-"

"And that's exactly why Shadow must be captured." The president interrupted. "And I trust that you will be the one to do the job, Rouge. Do not think I've forgotten our agreement from this past winter that quickly, and you just said that Shadow committed a crime once before. All the more reason for him to be caught. And if that does not happen, then both you and Shadow will face drastic consequences if need be."

He hung up, and Rouge sighed. The fact that she had to capture Shadow still wasn't fixed in her head.

_"Oh, this is great…"_

**TO BE CONTINUED **


	7. Chapter Seven

_**Rougesweet16 note:** I know, I know, so far these chapters are pretty boring, right? But I hope this chapter will set off some action, because from this point on a lot of things will happen._

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* * *

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**Chapter 7**

Back at Tails' workshop, the twined-tailed fox was happy Omega was finally finished. Omega looked more like an advanced version of a laptop. Tails decided to test it again. "Hey Omega, how are you feeling?"

"Checking current status." Omega replied. After a few seconds, "Power up complete. Ready and at your service, Tails."

'_So far, everything is looking good.'_ Tails thought happily. He looked out the window across from him. The sun was already setting and the rain started to settle. "Sonic's been gone for a while," Tails said. "Maybe I should go out and look for him." Tails decided to bring Omega along with him, and he got outside and went towards the back of the building to get his plane: the Tornado.

But Tails turned around after hearing someone call his name. He saw Knuckles walking to him. "Hi Knuckles." He greeted. "What are you doing here?" Knuckles answered his question by showing him a few shards of the Master Emerald that he had in his hands. Tails was pretty surprised. "Did you island fall again? What happened this time?"

"Never mind how it happened." Knuckles said. "Isn't Sonic with you?"

"I was just about to look for him with my plane. Why?"

"I think we've got trouble. Chaos is back." Knuckles saw that Tails was in shock. "He was the one that broke the Master Emerald, and that's why I'm here. But Chaos changed. I'm not sure what's going on with him, but maybe you and Sonic should start looking the Chaos Emeralds. I've got to look for the Master Emerald pieces. I'll see you later, Tails. And make sure you tell Sonic the message when you find him."

"See you, Knuckles."

Tails jumped in his plane after Knuckles left. All he was focusing on now was to find Sonic as fast as he could. Chaos coming back might mean trouble, but that one fact didn't make sense. What could have happened that changed Chaos?

* * *

Mina could already see some stars starting to appear in the sunset. She spent most of her time outside after her lunch with her mother, and now she was on her way back home. Suddenly Mina stopped at an unusual sound. She couldn't make out what it was. It wasn't rustling; she didn't really hear any bushes or trees doing that. It sounded more like…dripping. The rain had stopped a while ago. 

Mina shook her head, thinking that she might have just imagined the sound, but another 'dripping' was heard and it was a little louder this time…and felt a little closer. Mina nervously looked around to see if anything was wrong, then she froze.

There was a tall, black creature; she didn't know what it was. It was standing still, glaring at her. She didn't yet notice she was trembling until she spoke. "W-w-what is that thing?" Then Mina started to hear light whispering from Black Chaos. It got louder each time it was repeated. Mina began to understand what it was saying.

"_**Give me the stone…Give me power…NOW!"**_

Black Chaos then slowly raised its arm; it was going to strike Mina, and she was too scared to try to run away. She hid her eyes behind her hands and waited for the black monster to attack her. She then heard a thud, but she didn't feel anything. After hearing a splash, Mina was forced to see what had happened.

Between her and the fallen Black Chaos was a blue hedgehog. His back was to Mina, so she couldn't see his face. Chaos stood back up and faced the its aggressor.

* * *

Sonic took a good look at Black Chaos' face. _'Is that Chaos? He changed.'_ He thought. He heard Chaos' whispers, then took a chance to look back to Mina's side. "He didn't hurt you, did he?" he asked her. 

Mina shook her head. "No, I'm okay…"

"You might want to stay out of the way. This could get messy." Sonic turned back to Chaos. "It's been way too long since I had a good time. Let's see what you've got!" Sonic saw Chaos thrusting both its arms into the ground, then it started to quake. Sonic knew that he had to get out of the way before he got hit, but he wanted to get to Chaos before he had the chance. Sonic quickly curled up into a ball and struck Black Chaos with his Ancient Light attack.

'_Wow, he's fast!'_ Mina thought in surprise, as she watched Sonic land.

Black Chaos then morphed itself into a ball as well, and floated in mid-air. When he landed, its watery form spread around the area. It was trying to capture both Sonic and Mina. The young mongoose had to jump to higher ground to avoid getting caught. Soon after Chaos morphed back to its original form, it was hit again with several of Sonic's light-speed attacks. Chaos fell to the ground again, and this time it stayed there, not moving.

'_What's going on?'_ Sonic asked himself. _'The Chaos I remember would usually evaporate or something, after he lost.'_ Sonic walked towards Black Chaos- big mistake! The blue hedgehog was suddenly hit to the chest by Chaos' right arm thrust. Sonic was thrown back and he hit the back of his head to a tree nearby. He groaned in pain at the impact.

Mina gasped. "Oh my gosh!"

Sonic struggled to stand back up. A shining object nearby caught his attention. He squinted with one eye while the other was closed shut, and he saw the blue Chaos Emerald he had. "Aww jeez," he struggled to say. "I must've dropped it." Sonic was getting ready to run and grab the emerald, but he was hit again by Chaos' attack and he landed hard on the ground.

"**_The stone…"_** Black Chaos repeated. It slowly walked towards the Chaos Emerald, but it stopped when Mina snatched it away. She then went to Sonic's side and she tried to lift him up as she put his arm around her neck.

"I gottcha!" she said. Sonic was unconscious. Mina tucked the Chaos Emerald away in her pocket, and when she tried to get away from Black Chaos, she didn't realize another stone dropped out of her other pocket when she started to run.

Mina could feel pain on her legs from carrying Sonic on her back, but she didn't want to face that black monster again, no matter how bad the pain felt. _'I got to get this guy out of here, and fast!' _Mina tried to pick up her pace and soon she felt that her feet were kicking the ground a little faster. She never ran this fast before, but with each passing second she ran even faster. "What's happening?" she wondered. Mina quickly forgot about the question. She kept running without a care to where she was. Getting as far away from Black Chaos was the only thing that mattered to her now.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

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* * *

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**TO:**

**ShadowandKnucklesgirlforever:** I can't believe you made a loser like me cry! Thanks for that nice note! ; )

**Animefangirl11:** Omen will be a surprise! Well kinda...

**Warior:** I'm working on it. Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter 8**

The sun had set beneath the horizon in Station Square. The moon had risen in the sky, and its light illuminated the city streets. Rouge was on her way to investigate the bank robbery. When the building was within her sight, she was somewhat surprised that the bank wasn't as secure as she thought it would be. There were only a few guard robots and two G.U.N troopers in front of the entrance. One of them pointed a gun at her when he saw her coming towards the building. "No trespassing these grounds, lady!" he yelled.

Rouge sighed. "Just calm down! I didn't come here to cause any trouble!"

"You shouldn't have any business here at this time anyway!"

At that point, Rouge took out a piece of thick paper from her pocket, and held it out for the guardsman to see it. "I'm Rouge the Bat." she stated. "This is a pass to the city's reserve bank. I've got permission to be here."

The guardsman lowered his weapon and looked at another guard to his left. After they had both nodded their heads, they turned back to Rouge. "Our apologies, Ms. Rouge." said the second guard. "You must understand how we need to approach this, after the recent robbery."

'_Well that's obvious!'_ the bat thought sarcastically.

"May we ask why you're here?" the guard continued.

"I'm just curious about the break-in." it was ½ a lie. "I'd like to check the surveillance, if you don't mind?"

"Not at all." The second guard turned to one of the nearby guard robots and snapped his fingers. The robot then marched towards him. "This robot can help you find your way through building. They will escort you-"

"That won't be necessary, thank you." Rouge intruded. "I think I can manage to find my way on my own." With that, Rouge left the guards and entered the bank. To no surprise, she was able to find that security room in only a few minutes. The room itself wasn't very large; this time Rouge found a lone officer. He was rather short, had a long face and for some odd reason, wore a pair of sunglasses. And he was only armed with a club that was attached to his belt.

He rose up from sitting in his chair in front of a computer, and turned to face her after hearing her footsteps. Before he was given the chance to say anything, Rouge showed him the same pass she had shown the guards back outside, and told him what she wanted to see on the computer monitors. The officer agreed to let her watch the robbery from the surveillance. Pretty soon the footage was playing, and Rouge could see the attack on the machine fighter. She confirmed that the intruder of the bank was indeed a hedgehog, but something had caught her attention just before that hedgehog disappeared.

"Wait, rewind that!" Rouge ordered the officer. When he did, she waited until the moment before the hedgehog vanishes. "Freeze it!" Impressively, the officer paused the footage at the exact place Rouge had wanted it. She then asked him, "Can you get me a close-up of that shot?" He nodded, and zoomed the screenshot until it was only that hedgehog that was seen. Rouge squinted at the screen until she saw a strange marking that glowed on the hedgehog's right arm. She couldn't make out what it was when she tried to look harder, but it was enough proof for her that it wasn't Shadow that stole the Chaos Emerald.

"Huh… this is interesting." Rouge whispered silently. She turned back to the officer and told him, "I've seen all that I needed. Thanks for the help."

"No problem." Said the officer. "The troops are gonna need all help they can get to catch that good for nothing 'jewel thief'." He then gave Rouge questioning look when she suddenly let out a laugh as she walked out of the security room.

* * *

Amy was tired, and yet she couldn't fall asleep. She was thinking to herself as time had past. After Cream came over to visit her again after Shadow had left, there were lots of things for her to think about. 

**_(Flashback)_**

"You feeling any better, Amy?" the little rabbit questioned. Cheese sat down in front of her, gazing at the pink hedgehog. Sitting beside them was another chao: Chocola. Both of the chaos stared at Amy for a long moment. Amy could easily see by their similar facial expressions, that they were just as worried as Cream.

"Not really, to be honest…" Amy answered miserably, but put on a soft smile.

"I think you should see a doctor."

"Don't worry, I'm not doing anything that'll make this fever worse." Amy hoped that being sarcastic would lighten Cream's mood. When she saw that it didn't work, she decided to change the subject. "Some weather, huh? It's been raining for a long time."

Cream nodded in agreement, then put a finger to her chin. "Come to think of it," she said. "weird things have been happening since this rain had started. I go to the city's hotel to see Cheese and Chocola at the Chao Gardens, and sometimes they would act really strange, or they look as if they weren't feeling well."

"Really?" Amy said curiously. "Do you know what's wrong with them?"

"No. I took them to the clinic, but the doctor told me that they are perfectly healthy. Both Cheese and Chocola would sometimes blurt out things that don't make any sense to me, like 'help friend', 'friend in trouble', and things like that. I tried to ask them if they were talking about Mr. Sonic or any of his other friends, but they said, 'no'."

Amy was now interested in what could be going on with Cream's chao companions. What could have prompted them to suddenly act so strange?

"And another thing is," Cream continued. "that there was a robbery at the bank down town today. I came across a few policemen on my way to the hotel, and they said that little kids like me shouldn't be around there at that time. I don't think they caught the one who did it yet."

'_There was a robbery…'_ Amy thought as she turned towards her television set in the living room. "There's no doubt that they'll show it on TV. Let's check it out." Amy grabbed the remote that was on her couch and kept switching the channels until she found the news. As she expected, the robbery was reported. Amy and Cream sat quietly in front of the TV and listened to the news reporter.

"In other news, it has been confirmed by eye-witnesses that the thief who recently stole a Chaos Emerald from Station Square's national reserve bank, was a dark hedgehog known as Shadow. He was last seen evading police forces at the highway area moments ago, and officers suspect that he might be heading towards the exit. They plan to have a special team of reinforcements to cover those grounds and to have them under their watch. Citizens are asked to report the current whereabouts of Shadow the Hedgehog if he is spotted anywhere in the city..."

Amy made a face that clearly showed her surprise. Of course at that moment, she had a hard time believing what she had just heard. Though she mentally admitted to herself that there was a similar case a few years ago, during the 'ARK' incident. Amy started to wonder if Shadow really was trying to collect the seven Chaos Emeralds again, or if there was something else going on...

"...Amy?"

The pink hedgehog turned towards Cream's call. It took her a few seconds to realize by the tone of her friend's voice, that she had been calling her multiple times. "Sorry, Cream. I was just thinking..." Amy brought her hands together as she looked towards the floor. "You're right though Cream, something weird is happening around here. Maybe we should try finding out about anything that can be going on..."

"You're not thinking of going outside, are you?" Cream quickly asked. "You know you can't do that; not when you're sick like this. Maybe we can get Mr. Sonic and the others to help us figure things out."

The mentioning of Sonic's name, got Amy to think that the blue hedgehog might have heard about the news on TV. In fact, Amy wasn't at all surprised at the thought that he might have already left to chase after Shadow to get some answers; she was close to thinking that she would do the same thing.

"To tell you the truth, Cream... I really don't know what we should do about this."

**_(End Flashback)_**

Amy slightly winced in pain and rested her hand on her head. Maybe she was thinking too much about this. She sat up on her bed, and after a while she somehow started to think of Shadow the Hedgehog.

There was something about Shadow's past that caught Amy's sympathy. What was just as strange was how someone who was portrayed as a shady and callous like Shadow, would show some compassion and concern for her. Then he kissed her- as if Shadow's _'changing behavior'_ wasn't surprising enough- and he gave her a beautiful bracelet as a Christmas gift. Amy made a face that had a hint of her curiosity. She wondered if she meant anything to Shadow. She had spent quite a while at her home after the last adventures months ago, and had time to think. Amy's pondering would lead up to these same thoughts, and it was amazing how she couldn't find an answer after her '_free time'_…

… And of course, she wasn't satisfied about it.

Amy would often think confronting Shadow with these thoughts, but there was no way for her to do so even if she wanted, since he is now suspected of stealing a Chaos Emerald by the police- hell, even G.U.N. The word suspect was important to Amy. That word gave her hope that Shadow may have been accused from weak evidence from the robbery. She knew very well that he already had an emerald in his possession. Amy believed in Shadow's innocence. She remembered how Sonic had to deal with the same situation before. This had to be the same case!

"… I have to do something…" those words suddenly escaped silently from Amy's mouth. "I just have to do something about this. I want to help somehow, but… what can I do?"

Amy's attention was then towards a strange, but familiar glow that reflected on the walls of her room. She looked to where the source of the glow was and found herself staring at her Piko Piko Hammer, resting on the bedpost. She watched as her powerful weapon started to transform. Then she had a tickling feeling on her feet. When she looked down, she noticed that there was light coming from under her bed as well. Amy crouched down and saw that the box that held her tarot cards was glowing, just like her hammer.

She went to grab the box in her hands. And when she opened it, her entire deck of cards flew out of its container and circled around her. Amy, while quite fascinated of the sight, watched as three cards had withdrawn themselves from the others and landed next to each other on the bed.

It took a few seconds for Amy to react. She hesitated before slowly approaching her bed to flip her cards...

* * *

Shadow was now fed up. He looked over to a pile of scrap metal, which was one of various robots that had attempted to capture him. _'Damn that Omen...'_ he thought. _'He probably planned for me to be chased like this...' _Shadow grab the green Chaos Emerald he had and was about to warp elsewhere, when- 

"Shadow, over here."

His ears twitched, and he instinctually looked over to his left. He saw Rouge hiding in the dark behind a building nearby. She gave him a signal for him to see her. Rouge didn't have time to blink when Shadow vanished and reappeared in front of her. She smirked. "Are you having fun playing cat and mouse with the police?"

"Very funny." Rouge could sense more of Shadow's seriousness then him being sarcastic. "What are you doing..." Shadow stopped himself. After a few seconds of thinking of himself and giving the _bat girl_ an intense stare, he then said, "I suppose you were sent here by your boss."

Rouge made no response.

"You're here to try to capture me too, am I right?"

"Look, don't get any ideas." Rouge said calmly. "You're right, I was ordered to turn you in. But that's not why I'm here. The one that stole the Chaos Emerald –"

"Omen." Shadow interrupted. Rouge opened her mouth to ask him what he meant, but Shadow didn't give her the chance to talk. "I saw him, and I'm not at all impressed." What annoyed Shadow the most was a piece of information that he wanted to know about: Omen's motives. He looked directly into Rouge's eyes. "Apparently he knows about us, and has something planned."

"Oh?" Rouge thought silently, also wanting to know what Omen's appearance meant. At the same time, she had a strange feeling about this situation. She felt the same way when she watched the surveillance back at the bank. When she first had a glance of Omen on the screen, something was triggered in Rouge's mind. It made her feel as though she remembered a person, and yet she knew nothing about that person at the same time...

Her train of thought was soon lost when the sound of sirens broke the silence. Rouge watched as Shadow raised the hand that held the emerald. "We'll talk about this once we get out of here." He quickly got a hold of Rouge's hand, then called out the words that allowed him to warp through time and space:

"Chaos Control!"

**TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

_Sorry that this update took a really long time. I would usually have the plots of my stories written down on paper. But then it got lost, and I spent lots of time hitting my head on a bedpost trying to remember what I needed to write. I found my paper again just a few days ago, so updates shouldn't be this long again. Sorry for the wait..._

_**Rougesweet16**_


	9. Chapter Nine

**Chapter 9**

Mina sighed in relief as she dipped her sore feet into the shallow waters of a small lake. By the looks of the sky, it seemed to be already late afternoon. Carrying a blue hedgehog on your back and running around the valley, attempting to get away from a black monster, wasn't easy.

'_A warm bath would be nice right about now…'_ she thought to herself.

She was thinking whether it was safe to return back home or not. She felt strongly that she had to warn her mother about what had happened moments ago, but then would that creature know where to find them? After all, it did know how to find her, right? Because it was after the stone she had…

The yellow mongoose reached inside her side pocket to find a large blue gem. Was this what that monster was after? Mina then did a quick search for the yellow jewel she had, but found nothing. She must have lost it while running.

"Ugh… my head…"

Mina turned back to see the hedgehog regain his consciousness. He rested one hand against a tree for support as he tried to stand. Mina, while unable to decide whether to help him, asked if he was feeling alright.

"Yeah… I think so." He answered, not meeting the young girl's gaze. "Chaos… he really did a number on me, huh?"

'_Chaos?'_ Mina stared blankly at the hedgehog. _'That's what that black thing was called?'_ She turned back to face her feet in the water, rhythmically moving them back and forth and making small splashes. She somewhat waited if the boy had anything else to say, and she instinctively turned back at the sound of his voice when he suddenly shouted out something regarding an emerald.

"I dropped it!" said the hedgehog. "High chances Chaos has my Chaos Emerald by now. Damn…"

When the blue boy said this, the jewel the mongoose had came to her mind. She extended her arm that held the emerald towards the hedgehog. "Is this what your talking about?" Mina asked, already having an idea of what her answer was. And she nearly jumped when the hedgehog ran in front of her at an amazing speed. He quickly snatched the emerald out of her hand to check it, then looked at her with a smile on his face.

"This is great," he said. "I got the emerald back. Now I've got time to find out what's going on here."

In the next second, the hedgehog turned around with his back facing the Mina and sprinted off. The young mongoose was left standing alone in the dust.

* * *

Sonic ran along the borders of the valley until he reached a vast field where a mountain pass was within sight. The trails were of dry soil and few patches of grass; it led Sonic to think he was heading back to the Mystic Ruins. And that's would be good. He thought he would have better chances in finding the other Chaos Emeralds with help from Tails. 

"Hey, you! Wait up!"

The voice that came from behind made Sonic turn to see someone running in the distance. It was the same girl he saw just moments ago. Sonic let his mouth drop when he saw how fast her feet were kicking the ground. The trail of flying dirt she was leaving behind her…

This girl … she was able to run at super speed?

Sonic snapped back from his thoughts in time to notice that the girl wasn't slowing down when she was closing in on him. He waved both his hands in front of him and yelled, "Slow down! Stop!"

"I-I can't!" the girl cried back. She was quickly in panic. She never thought that she could run this fast, she never thought she was able to. In her current state, she closed her eyes and tried to brace herself for a guaranteed impact.

Out of reflex, Sonic moved his body to the side just when the mongoose was about to collide with him, then he had her firmly in his arms to prevent her from falling to the ground. The hedgehog slowly set her down to let her catch her breath.

"Sorry about that." The girl said exhaustingly. "But I don't think I should be the one apologizing."

"Huh?" Sonic made a confused face. "What are you talking about?"

"Do you usually leave people behind like that? Even after the fact that someone might have saved you, and dragged you around the valley for hours, just to try and get away from that black monster thingy? I wouldn't call that a courtesy act if you ask me."

She suddenly stopped for breath again, and Sonic only blinked in response to her speech. For a moment he wondered whether that had happened while he was knocked out. It would explain the girl's presence when he woke up, and that Chaos wasn't around. Sonic took a small glance at her facial expression, which was upsetting, but there was something about it that he found…cute.

A soft chuckle suddenly escaped his mouth, and it had startled the girl in front of him. "Sorry." He finally said. "I guess I owe you for that, huh?"

There was a long pause, then the girl seemed to have shifted nervously. "Who are you anyway?" she asked. "I don't know anyone else who lives around here."

"I don't," Sonic answered. "I was just hangin' around here, but…" He took out the Chaos Emerald and stared at it absently. "That black thing: Chaos, I don't know why he's here, but I've got to find out."

"So this Chaos, it obviously wants that emerald for something." The mongoose slightly shook upon recalling her first encounter with Chaos. She stood back up to take another look at the Chaos Emerald. "Does he need it to be stronger or something?"

"Yeah, but I can't really get into it. It's a long story." Sonic quickly tucked the emerald away. "I've got to find some friends to help get the other emeralds before Chaos does. So I guess I'll see you some other time." Sonic was about to take off again, when his hand was abruptly caught in the girl's hold. He turned to see her now determined face.

"Can I come with you?" she asked him.

"What? Why?"

"I guess it's because… I just found out that I owe you for something too." The young mongoose expected the blue hedgehog to be confused after that statement. "Well you see, a couple of days ago, I-"

"Mina! Mina? Sweetie, where are you?"

At that moment, someone wearing a dark shawl was wondering not too far from where Sonic and Mina were. And when they caught sight of Mina, they immediately ran towards her and caught her in a strong embrace. Mina blinked in shock when she saw her mother's face behind her shawl, and was forced to sit back down on her knees by her mother's hold. A large part of Mina's face was resting on her mother's trembling shoulder, and she could hear faint sobbing against her ear.

"Oh Mina, I'm so glad you're okay." She said as her voice broke, then pulling herself away from Mina so that she could clearly see her face. "You stayed out for so long without telling me… I don't want you doing that again, do you understand me? Don't you **_ever_** do that to me."

"…I'm sorry mom," Mina quietly said. "But something came up." She then turned back to Sonic, who was only scratching the back of his head uncomfortably at the scene of the mother/daughter reunion. "See, this guy here was in trouble," Mina explained. "I was only trying to help him out."

Mina's mother stood up to take a good look at Sonic, then took a polite bow to him. "Thank you for staying by my daughter all this time." She said. "I'm glad that nothing terrible had happened to the both of you."

"No, problem." Sonic replied calmly, but then he took a step backwards while looking back to Mina's direction. "But I really need to get on out of here. Thanks for the emerald… Mina, is it? I'll se you later."

"But wait!" Mina called out. "I still didn't tell you about-"

She was cut off again, only this time by a loud splashing sound coming from water bursting from a stream nearby. Mina was found in her mother's arms again, while Sonic jumped in front of both of them. Pretty soon, they were able to see the water forming into a familiar dark being, with an abnormally large arm with a glowing jewel embedded in its palm.

_'Oh Boy,' _Sonic thought. _'I guess Chaos is ready for round two…'_

**_TO BE CONTINUED_**

* * *

To the readers, sorry that I have to end the chapter at this point, but I wanted to have the next chapter to have lots of things happening (some good, some bad...). I'm such a bad person, aren't I? But don't worry, I'll make it up to you in the next update. Until next time!

_Rougesweet16!_


	10. Chapter Ten

**Chapter 10**

While keeping Black Chaos in his sight, Sonic slightly shifted his head towards Mina and her mother. "You two need to get away from here." He said. He spread his legs apart as he always did when readying for a fight. Then he took out the Chaos Emerald he possessed in his hand, and flashed an audacious smile. "I see you've got an emerald too." He said as he took a step forward. "Well then I'd say that we're even now. This should be a fair fight."

"No, wait!" Mina suddenly called out from behind. "You can't fight him now. What if you get hurt like last time?"

"It's only here for the Chaos Emerald, but if that's how it wants to play, that's fine by me. Things just might get a little rougher than the last fight."

At the time, Sonic couldn't resist wanting to taunt Black Chaos for just one moment. He waved his hand that held the Chaos Emerald while shouting: "You want it? Then come and get it!"

However unsettling Mina felt about what was going on, she knew that this wasn't the place to stay. She stood up and took her mother's hand in hers, and the two ladies took off hoping that they would be out of sight and of harm's way. The young mongoose ran as fast as she could while holding onto her mother, and risked a short glance back to Sonic's direction. She wondered if he was going to be okay.

It was Black Chaos' cue to attack. Using the morphed arm that had the Chaos Emerald, it attempted to make a thrust to Sonic's midsection. Although the attack was surprisingly quick, Sonic was quicker. The hedgehog simply jumped in the air to avoid the attack. He then curled into a spinning ball, and blasted towards his opponent…

But Sonic's Homing Attack didn't get through. Black Chaos used one of its protrusions on its head to block the blow, and it pushed the hedgehog back. Sonic landed back on his feet, showing no sign of being taken aback when he faced Chaos again. This only fueled his enthusiasm. After all, it has been a while since he's been in a fight like this, and he didn't expect Chaos to be next in line to have a fight with.

Black Chaos motioned forward sluggishly, lifting its arm once again. Sonic rushed towards him and curled down, rolling into one of Chaos' legs. Its watery form suddenly changed into a giant black ball. Sonic also noticed the Chaos Emerald that was held inside Black Chaos' body burst out. But it wouldn't stay out for long. It started to glow and was slowly floating back towards Chaos' ball form.

Having a bad feeling about what was happening, Sonic instinctively knew that he had to act fast. Just before the yellow jewel could enter Chaos' body, the blue hedgehog performed a somersault and struck the ball with a powerful kick.

Sonic watched as Black Chaos fell to the ground with an awkward splashing sound, and it looked as though it took some damage by the impact. The hedgehog smiled as he found his opponent's weak point. He now knew that he had to keep the Chaos Emeralds away for Black Chaos to be vulnerable. But as soon as this thought came to pass, the yellow emerald was drawn back into Black Chaos' body. It slowly morphed back into its original state with the emerald returned in the palm ofits hand.

Of course, this didn't bother Sonic at all. Because he was sure that the next time he had the opportunity, he would be able to beat Black Chaos, and maybe even take the Chaos Emerald from it.

But as Sonic kept fighting, he found out that making an impact on Black Chaos was gradually getting difficult. It was as if it was developing its defenses with every receiving blow. Sonic ended up getting a few scratches and scrapes. He knew this fight had to end quickly.

He crouched down and got ready as he saw Black Chaos walking towards him. It took a little more time, but he managed to bring out its vulnerability again. He poured much force into his Spin Attack and collided into his opponent. Black Chaos landed on the ground, near the stream where it had first appeared. Sonic looked to where the yellow Chaos Emerald was floating, and could see that it was being drawn back towards where Black Chaos was. He had to move swiftly and carefully to grab the emerald without the watery monster trying to attack again.

What happened afterwards seemed to go by so fast. Sonic suddenly heard a loud shriek, and the next thing he saw was that both Black Chaos and the Chaos Emerald had been thrown back. The hedgehog blinked in surprise as he watched them land in the water… while also catching a glimpse of someone with flowing purple hair. "What the-?" Sonic froze once he realized who it was that had rammed Black Chaos, and was falling in the water along with it.

'_Crap…'_ He thought. He quickly scanned the depth of the stream of water, and saw that it wasn't as shallow as he had hoped it would be. But no matter how much he hated it, he couldn't someone drowning while trying to retrieve the Chaos Emerald. Sonic took a deep breath and plunged into the water. His eyes began to sting a little when he tried to squint underwater, but he quick to make out a limp body below him. Sonic then tried to reach it with poor breaststrokes and was soon able to get a grip of a hand.

Gently pulling on the hand to bring the body to him, Sonic was relieved to see that it was Mina that was secured in his arms. But they still needed to get out of the water. He could feel the added pressure to the situation when his heart started to beat in a fast pace. The blue hedgehog hoped that his legs would work with him, and he tried kicking as hard as he could to reach the surface.

Not satisfied that they weren't swimming fast enough, he took out the Chaos Emerald. Tightening his grip on the jewel, Sonic's mind quickly filled with the desire to get back on land.

The Chaos Emerald glowed brightly, and Sonic could feel the strain in his legs leaving him as he was approaching the water's surface at an amazing speed. He closed his eyes when both he and Mina had burst out of the stream. Sonic landed on his feet with the yellow mongoose in his arms, then gently set her to the ground on her back. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, while thinking back to what had just happened. Black Chaos returned to his thoughts, and Sonic looked back to the stream. The whole time that he was under water, he didn't noticed where it may have gone.

Black Chaos had disappeared, along with the Chaos Emerald it had.

A distant sound of a plane caught Sonic's attention, and he looked up to see the Tornado flying above him. "Hey Tails! Down here!" He yelled as aloud as he could, and to his relief, he saw the plane slowly descending to the ground. Sonic then took the unconscious Mina in his hands again, and walked over to the Tornado.

Tails jumped out of his plane to meet with his best friend. "Sonic! Are you okay?" he asked, but found himself looking at the mongoose in front of him.

"I'll live." Sonic answered. He breathed out a sigh. "Let's just head over at your place. I really need a break."


End file.
